What are the best options for a rear Dana 44 cover, and why?

Irun

Irun

A vicious cycle of doing, undoing, and re-doing!
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The go-to cover for the front is the Barnett. I've seen no clear choice for the back, but am curious what you run or recommend, and why? FWIW, the only reason I've seen to run a stronger rear cover is to prevent the bottom lip of the stock cover from getting peeled back.
 
I have g2 covers front and rear with contact from both track bars. I haven’t dialed in my control arms yet and have Installed adjustable tbs so I think I can adjust and be fine.I would go less bulky options for clearance.



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I have a solid rear that scrapes the tank slightly. Never been able to get a Barnett cover so I run a riddler cover up front. Tried the late model ram cover up front and it only lasted one trip. It was a great upgrade over stock and definitely thicker so maybe it would work better in the rear.
 
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if it's still road driven there is cause to not bother with covers that do not support the gear lube slinging action.

as a crawler has anyone looked into an alternative way to bathe the pinion bearings at crawl speed? most all of us are rotated up that's not great in itself forcing oil to be slung uphill. crawling would not support this action very well at all and 1 could almost suspect that a certain amount of pinion bearing failures might be due to this either by a cover that does not support slinging or low speed that cannot generate the action to sling.

any thoughts?
 
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someguysjeep said:
as a crawler has anyone looked into an alternative way to bathe the pinion bearings at crawl speed? most all of us are rotated up that's not great in itself forcing oil to be slung uphill. crawling would not support this action very well at all and 1 could almost suspect that a certain amount of pinion bearing failures might be due to this either by a cover that does not support slinging or low speed that cannot generate the action to sling.

any thoughts?
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I haven't seen any indications of excessive pinion bearing wear on LP 44s. Even though the pinion is rotated up for many of us, the constant nose up and nose down motions when crawling keeps the bearing lubricated. This may be another benefit of running conventional gear lube, given how tacky it tends to be. At speed, there is enough oil flying around inside the center section to keep things lubed. At least that's been my experience. :unsure:
 
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I run the Rock Hard on the front Dana 44 with stock cover and a G2 that was on the rear when I bought the LJ. I have similar "catcher's mask' covers on the Dana 30 and C8.25 on my XJ. Their theory is that the separate guard isolates contact to only the guard and its perimeter, eliminating any impact to the ring gear. There are other similar products out there. Also, no issue with track bar clearance since you're covering only the lower half of the pumpkin.

https://www.rockhard4x4.com/product_p/rh-9053.htm

https://purplecranium.com/i-63082-dana-44-half-spider-differential-guard.html?ref=category:53685

https://purplecranium.com/i-63081-dana-44-full-spider-differential-guard.html
 
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Camdenst said:
I'm currently running the poison spider cover with the savvy skid without issue.
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I also run the poison spider cover with a savvy skid. It gave plenty of room to move the axle back a little when I outboarded. I have drug that thing over half the rocks in the southwest without issue.
 
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Reason I'm asking the question is I currently have a Poison Spyder cover. It, like many other covers has exposed bolts. I have a tendency to chew up the bottom two bolts and I even managed to break one off in the housing. Instead of replacing the bolts a couple times a year, I'd like a better solution.

The Barnett cover has recessed bolt holes, but isn't available.
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Metalcloak also has recessed holes, yes I said MC, and a small drain hole. I'm looking for options with this style, i.e. recessed bolt holes. At some point I really need to add a wear strip on the bottom of the housing, before it gets chewed through!
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I have to replace my front lower two bolts every year or so but have had no problem with the rear. I am also going to add some hard welds ( not sure what the technical term is) to the bottom of the diff to add some wear protection . Right now the diff has worn down even with the cover!!
 
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Irun said:
It, like many other covers has exposed bolts. I have a tendency to chew up the bottom two bolts and I even managed to break one off in the housing. Instead of replacing the bolts a couple times a year, I'd like a better solution.
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Have you tried button head bolts, instead of hex.
 
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LONGJP2 said:
Have you tried button head bolts, instead of hex.
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I have and they get damaged as well. Maybe the problem is my driving skills. Or, this is an issue when you take a vehicle on 32" tires to play where those with 35's go. Something is going to drag and for me it's the differentials!
 
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PurpleTJAZ said:
I have to replace my front lower two bolts every year or so but have had no problem with the rear. I am also going to add some hard welds ( not sure what the technical term is) to the bottom of the diff to add some wear protection . Right now the diff has worn down even with the cover!!
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Like @Irun my front diff took a beating while on 31" tyres last winter. I now have a Barnett cover for the Dana 30 front I still need to install. I should inspect the rear Dana 44 stock cover more closely now. Outwardly I do not think it was as bad as the front cover. With me now on 35" tyres, I hope to headbutt rocks less now.
 
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